L'Occitane buys natural neighbour M&A Sante Beaute

Both companies have achieved regular annual sales increases of more than 25 per cent in recent years thanks to their focus on fast-growing sectors of the beauty market. By acquiring M&A Santé Beauté, L'Occitane will benefit from the strength of its organic cosmetics brand Melvita and the established reputation of its private label business Ardecosm. Fast growth​ M&A Santé Beauté was created 25 years ago and is now expanding faster than ever reporting a turnover figure of €20.5m in 2007. "In three years, since our arrival, M&A Santé Beauté has doubled its sales while its workforce has expanded from 150 to 250 employees,"​ said Grégoire Bouvier, spokesperson for Initiative & Finance, the former majority owners of the company. For the year ahead, M&A Santé Beauté expects to continue to expand and has set its sales forecast at €24m. International opportunities​ Currently 90 per cent of M&A Santé Beauté's sales are made in France but the acquisition will help the company pursue growth through international channels. Coming under the wings of L'Occitane will giving it access to a network of 1,000 stores in 60 countries. The acquisition is also mutually beneficial on account of the geographical closeness and complementary activities of the two firms. Both companies share the desire to produce authentic and natural beauty products. The acquisition may help M&A Santé Beauté enter the travel retail market as L'Occitane derives a large percentage of its sales revenue from airport purchases. Last year the company expanded on its 28 duty free stores with openings in Buenos Aires and Costa Rica as well as in Los Angeles and San Francisco airports.